Austin360 blogs > Austin Movie Blog > Archives > 2012 > January
January 2012
Meat Loaf, Barry Corbin and Douglas McGrath to be inducted into Texas Film Hall of Fame
The Austin Film Society announced today that it will induct the men at the 12th annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards on March 8 at ACL Live. It was also announced today that musicians Nakia and Suzanna Choffel will make special appearances at the ceremony and perform with the ceremony’s house band, Grupo Fantasma.
Tickets and sponsorships for the March 8 event are now available online, ranging from $75 balcony seats to $25,000 for a 10-person “Blockbuster table” on the floor with a cocktail hour and catered dinner from Trace at the W Hotel. Richard Linklater, and John Paul and Eloise DeJoria are event co-hosts for the 2012 awards.
For tickets or sponsorship information, visit austinfilm.org or contact Ann Welch via email or by phone at 322-0145.
(Photo: Meat Loaf appears on stage during the first concert of his tour through Germany in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Tuesday, June 12, 2007. (ASSOCIATED PRESS Kai-Uwe Knoth)
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Sundance wrapup, awards
Often at film festivals, the jury awards, and sometimes even audience awards, don’t always go the films that have been buzzed about all week by festivalgoers.
This was not the case Saturday night at Sundance, where the two much-hyped films I mentioned in my last post, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The Surrogate,” came away with the Grand Jury Prize for Drama and the Audience Award for U.S. Drama, respectively. Fox Searchlight, which purchased both films earlier in the week, will feel that their choices have been validated, and it is now only a matter of time before these films invade theaters with the full force of Fox’s publicity department behind them. Congrats to these filmmakers on what will surely be a giant step forward for all of their careers.
I was also pleased to see writer/director Ava DuVernay, whom I mentioned as a talent on the rise in a previous post, win the U.S. Directing Award for Drama for “Middle of Nowhere,” and it’s no surprise that the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award went to Derek Connolly for his hilarious and poignant work on “Safety Not Guaranteed,” one of my personal favorites of the fest.
Major documentary awards went to veterans Eugene Jarecki (“Why We Fight”) for “The House I Live In,” a film about America’s failed war on drugs, and Kirby Dick (“This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” “Outrage”) for “The Invisible War,” which investigates the disturbingly widespread sexual assault in our nation’s military. There were no awards for the two major Friday night premieres, “Predisposed” and “The Words,” both of which were met with mixed reviews.
Compared to the frenzied buyer’s market of last year, this year’s Sundance was calmer by comparison. Several surefire audience pleasers have had to wait all week before offers were made by studios, while some are still sitting on the bargaining table.
Remarkably, a film like “Lay the Favorite,” despite being fueled by the glitzy star power of Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones, has settled on a day-and-date distribution deal, meaning that it will be available through Video-on-Demand the same day as it releases in a handful of theaters. A few years ago, this “direct-to-video” moniker would have been considered a label of shame, but now it speaks more to the economic conditions facing independent film.
No studio wants to take expensive chances on indie films that don’t have obvious upsides, but, luckily, we have more outlets than ever before to experience these movies. I hope you’ll take advantage of these opportunities and see some of these amazing films, which will serve as proof to the industry at large that there is still an audience for well-made independent films.
(Stephen Jannise is the film program director for the Austin Film Festival).
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High-profile picks at Sundance
Stephen Jannise, the film program director for the Austin Film Festival, is attending the Sundance Film Festival and is filing reports. Here’s the latest, from Friday, 01/27.
Over the course of 10 days at Sundance, certain films with great word of mouth become hot tickets, making it very difficult to get into the additional screenings for those films. This is particularly the case with two films, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The Surrogate,” which generated a great deal of chatter on the streets of Park City after their initial screenings. Don’t worry if you can’t see these films at Sundance, though; both have been bought by Fox Searchlight and will be coming to a city near you later this year.
Other films are more of a slow build, like Richard Bates Jr.’s “Excision,” which has been picking up buzz as the week goes on. Anyone who has seen the TV series “Nip/Tuck” or the new “90210” will recognize lead AnnaLynne McCord, who plays a seductive vixen in both shows.
In “Excision,” she has moved as far away from those roles as she possibly could, playing a nerdy, acne-ridden, semi-sociopathic high school student struggling with strange sexual desires and her overwhelming mother. To my surprise, she carries this role off with great aplomb, creating a unique character who never ceases to fascinate. While Traci Lords is equally surprising in the role of the mother, and John Waters and Malcolm McDowell lend their famous personas to the project for a few moments, no one can steal this movie from McCord, who proves here that she is more than just another pretty face.
I also had the great pleasure of seeing the new film from Austinites David and Nathan Zellner, “KID-THING.” While the film won’t be for everyone, as, I think, the brothers would be the first to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed the film’s portrait of childhood mischief from the perspective of the child.
As the filmmakers said in a Q&A following the film, they felt that films about childhood are too often told from an adult perspective, whether it’s the adults surrounding the child or an adult looking back on childhood. Here, the Zellners stay focused on young Annie, played with anger and heart by newcomer Sidney Aguirre.
At times hilarious, nostalgic, and disturbing, the film seems to be about a child trapped in her own fantasy world with no responsible adults around to pull her out of it. Of course, the filmmakers ultimately give each viewer the opportunity to construct a different interpretation of this thoughtful, beautifully shot piece, which is one of the hallmarks of good filmmaking.
A few films have yet to screen, including tonight’s big premieres “Predisposed,” starring Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan, and “The Words,” which stars Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons and Dennis Quaid and was bought by CBS Films before it even played in front of an audience. Stay tuned for a report on these films and on the big winners at Saturday night’s Awards Ceremony.
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Sundance update
Certain films are starting to pick up buzz at Sundance, sending audiences into a frenzy for tickets and distributors into bidding wars for the chance to put their name on the next “Like Crazy” or “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” But the films aren’t the only things making news. From angry Q&As to the loss of a beloved industry veteran, emotions have been running high in the past few days.
“Compliance” has enjoyed very solid word-of-mouth with the added bonus of contentious Q&As, suggesting that the film will be a surefire conversation starter. When a man claiming to be a police officer calls a local fast food restaurant and demands that the manager, Sandra, detain her young female employee, Becky, Sandra follows his orders. As the film progresses, Sandra continues to do what the man says, with horrific results for Becky.
The film examines how quickly we can bow to authority and how dangerous it can be to do so without question. “Compliance” is tense and terrifying, and after its world premiere, some audience members who felt that the film had gone too far loudly voiced their opinions. One filmgoer took offense to the violence against women depicted in the film, arguing that it was too exploitative, and the argument is certainly valid. This film is anything but tame and conservative, and it will surely elicit strong responses from its audience, whether positive or negative. Craig Zobel directs, and Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker and Pat Healy star.
Spike Lee was in town for the premiere of his new film “Red Hook Summer,” and his Q&A was also somewhat contentious. The film itself has received mixed reviews, but, as a fan of Lee’s films, I enjoyed it and think other fans of the director’s work will, too. You’ll find the unmistakable writing and visual style that has been the strength of his past films, particularly since the film is a sequel of sorts to “Do the Right Thing.” But don’t tell Lee that.
Using words that can’t be printed here, Lee asserted that the film is absolutely not a sequel and went on to claim that major studios “know nothing about black people.” As usual with Lee, the spectacle of his rant has overshadowed the fact that he has some good points. Lee is a filmmaker who puts a lot of thought and heart into his films, and it doesn’t seem so crazy that he would want his latest film to stand on its own merits, rather than being aggressively marketed as “Do the Right Thing 2.”
Lee’s dissatisfaction with the studio experience underlined the importance of indie film champions like Bingham Ray, who passed away early Monday morning. The independent film community has profited from Ray’s ambition and foresight for years; he played a significant role in the careers of indie masters like Mike Leigh, Lars von Trier, David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch. It is clear, based on the mood in industry parties, that he will be greatly missed, even by those who never got to know the generous and genuine man that he was.
Strong emotions were also felt at the screenings for two films that depict families struggling to cope when a loved one is sentenced to several years in prison. “Middle of Nowhere” follows a young woman with remarkable patience who finds herself waiting for five years for her drug-dealing husband to be released. Director Ava DuVernay wrote the screenplay after having conversations with several women dealing with an incarcerated spouse or partner, and she drew memorable performances from her lead Emayatzy Corinealdi, Lorraine Toussaint as a mother concerned that her daughter is throwing her life away, and the unceasingly charming David Oyelowo as a man who offers our heroine a second chance.
DuVernay is a talent to keep an eye on, as is Gina Rodriguez, who portrays the title character in the pulsating “Filly Brown.” This is an astonishing, star-making turn for Rodriguez, who plays an aspiring hip-hop artist trying to make the money she needs to bail her addict mom out of prison. The actress not only handles a very difficult role with aplomb, but she is also an incredible musician, leading several people in the audience to beg for the soundtrack. With great supporting performances from Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos and the rest of this amazing cast, the film is so much more than an “8 Mile for Girls.”
After the screening, “Filly Brown” received a standing ovation from the 1,000 people filling Sundance’s largest venue, which brought Rodriguez to tears. She took a bow and thanked everyone in the theater for sharing in the realization of her indie dream. At that moment, I couldn’t help but think about Bingham Ray. Those are the kind of moments that people like Ray spend their lives fighting for. We have lost another fighter.
Stephen Jannise, the film program director for the Austin Film Festival, is attending the Sundance Film Festival and will be filing updates on the events for Austin360. This is another of his reports.
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Producer with Austin ties gets Best Picture Oscar nomination for ‘The Help’
Green said he, “The Help” actress Octavia Spencer, who received a best supporting actress nomination, and executive producer Tate Taylor had a slumber party Monday night and watched the nomination announcement together on Tuesday morning.
“Whatever happens, we started this trip together, whether it’s good or bad,” Green said by phone Tuesday. “We were hoping to get nominated, but it’s always a surprise because you just never know what the Academy is going to do; so we were thrilled at 5:30 a.m. to be up. Octavia was screaming her lungs out. It was great.”
(Photo: Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis are shown in a scene from “The Help.” (DISNEY/Dale Robinette)
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Oscars 2012: An early summary with Austin perspective
Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” which was filmed in Smithville and Central Texas, earned three Oscar nominations on Tuesday for best picture, director and cinematography.
The impressionistic tale about family life became the first Texas film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but the movie divided audiences, and its nominations for best picture and director were considered longshots.
“Bullhead,” a Belgian tale that was a hit at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, was one of five nominees for best foreign language film. Austin’s Drafthouse Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the movie after its local success.
But other Austin movies didn’t fare as well in the nominations Tuesday. “Take Shelter,” the critically acclaimed story written and directed by Austin’s Jeff Nichols and a leading contender in the Independent Spirit Awards, did not receive any nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nor did its star, Michael Shannon.
Overall, Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” led the Oscars with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director. In second place was “The Artist,” a black-and-white silent homage to early Hollywood, with 10 nominations.
Because of a change in rules, the best picture race was narrowed to nine contenders rather than the 10 from last year. In addition to “The Tree of Life,” “The Artist” and “Hugo,” the other best picture nominees are: “The Descendants,” a family drama starring George Clooney; the Deep South feel-good drama “The Help”; the romantic fantasy from Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”; the World War I tale from Steven Spielberg, “War Horse”; the baseball story “Moneyball”; and the highly divisive Sept. 11 story, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
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Oscars 2012: Cinematography
“The Tree of Life” ended up with three nominations Tuesday. In addition to best picture and best director nods for Terrence Malick, Emmanuel Lubezki was nominated for best cinematography.
The other nominees for cinematography are: Guillaume Schiffman for “The Artist”; Jeff Chenoweth for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; Robert Richardson for “Hugo”; and Janusz Kaminski for “War Horse.”
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Drafthouse Films’ ‘Bullhead’ nominated for Oscar
Fantastic Fest stand-out and subsequent acquisition by Tm League and Drafthouse Films, “Bullhead” was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film this morning. Director Michael Roskam’s psychological noir thriller, which League has called a “near-perfect” film will represent Belgium at the 84th annual Academy Awards on February 26.
“Michael Roskam is an incredibly exciting new director,” Drafhouse Films founder and CEO League said. “We are so happy that the Academy thinks as highly of him as we do.”
For some blow-by-blow on this morning’s action, check out this FantasticFest.com blog from Devin Faraci, who is in Sundance with League and the Drafthouse team.
Also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film are “Footnote” from Israel, “In Darkness” from Poland, “Monsieur Lazhar” from Canada and the early favorite, “A Separation” from Iran.
“Bulhead” plays at the Santa Barbara Film Festival next week and is slated to open theatrically in early 2012.
Related: Read our review of “Bullhead” from last year’s Fantastic Fest.
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Oscars 2012: The leaders
Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” leads the Academy Awards with 11 nominations, including best picture and director. “The Artist,” a silent black-and-white homage to early Hollywood, was the second most-honored movie, with 10 nominations.
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Oscars 2012: The actors
Rooney Mara, the newcomer star of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” was nominated for best actress this morning in something of a surprise. Most critics hailed her performance, but the academy tends to overlook newcomers in these high-profile categories.
The other nominees were as expected: Viola Davis, “The Help”; Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”; Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”; and Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn.”
For best actor, the big surprise nominee was Demian Bachir of “A Better Life.” The other nominees were George Clooney, “The Descendants”; Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”; Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”; and Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
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Oscars 2012: The nominations
“The Tree of Life” was nominated for best picture and Terrence Malick was nominated for best director by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this morning.
The movie, which was filmed in Texas by the Austin director, was a surprise nominee, in part because it was left out of most major awards leading up to the Oscars. But it won the prestigious Palme d’Or in Cannes in May.
Jessica Chastain, who starred in “Tree,” was not nominated for her role but did garner a nomination for supporting actress for “The Help.” Octavia Spencer was also nominated in the same category for “The Help.”
Other best picture nominees were “War Horse,” “The Artist,” “Moneyball,” “The Descendants,” “Midnight in Paris,” “The Help,” “Hugo” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
The nomination for “Extremely Loud” was one of the biggest surprises. The 9/11 tale has split critics, with some denouncing it as manipulative.
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‘Hellion’ Sundance Chronicles, episodes 2 and 3
Austin filmmaker Kat Candler is in Sundance for the premiere of her short film “Hellion.” We chatted with her briefly before she left, which you can read here.
Candler and ‘Hellion’ producer Kelly Williams, with the help of editor E.J. Enriquez, are chronicling their experience in Sundance and we will be sharing those video diaries with you here on the Austin Movie Blog.
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An early look at Sundance
Stephen Jannise, the film program director for the Austin Film Festival, is attending the Sundance Film Festival and will be filing updates on the events for Austin360. Here’s the first of his reports:
Every year, those who love independent filmmaking congregate at Sundance. I can safely say that I’ve never seen so many celebrities, film industry professionals, and excited moviegoers gathered together in such a small area. For 10 days, Park City transforms into a movie mecca, and, so far, the films have been well worth the journey.
On Thursday, the city was abuzz with opening night festivities. From Taylor Swift to Master of Ceremonies Robert Redford, you couldn’t walk five feet without running into another famous face. But the focus remained on the films. One of the opening night selections, “The Queen of Versailles,” follows multi-billionaire real estate mogul David Siegel and his family as their fortunes are lost to the 2008 economic disaster. This astonishing story fit perfectly with Redford’s opening address, which focused on the economy and diminished financial support for filmmaking and the arts in general. However, you wouldn’t be able to tell that we’re suffering an economic crisis with all the deal-making going on throughout the week. “The Queen of Versailles” made such an impression that Magnolia Pictures bought the film the next morning, kicking off a buying frenzy that will continue through the end of the festival.
Friday also brought the first full day of films. The director of “Buried,” Rodrigo Cortes, returned to Sundance this year with “Red Lights,” starring Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as psychologists who work to debunk psychics and their belief in the paranormal. Their greatest adversary is Robert De Niro’s world-renowned telekinetic healer, a character that gives De Niro an increasingly rare opportunity to impress. At the end of this nerve-wracking thriller, the veteran actor delivers a monologue that is devoid of the usual De Niro posturing that has plagued so many of his recent performances, and those few moments alone are worth the price of admission.
Saturday saw the U.S. premiere of Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights.” Anyone who has seen Arnold’s “Red Road” or “Fish Tank” will recognize her unique style in this invigorating take on the classic novel. By shooting the film in a square 4:3 aspect ratio rather than the usual widescreen approach, Arnold eschews the usual David Lean approach to literary adaptation, choosing to focus our attention on the beautifully expressive faces of her non-professional actors rather than the blustery vistas of the English landscape. This film joins Cary Fukunaga’s recent “Jane Eyre” as encouraging examples of what can be done with too often told tales.
Bruce Willis was in town for the premiere of “Lay the Favorite,” the new film from director Stephen Frears. The shining light of the film, as she so often is, was Rebecca Hall, the consistently impressive actress who here leaves behind her usual classiness to play a naive stripper from Florida. When she goes to Vegas with dreams of being a cocktail waitress, she runs into Willis’ professional gambler, who helps her realize a hidden talent for numbers. The film benefits from a light-hearted tone that fits the Vegas setting perfectly, and writer D.V. DeVincentis creates a refreshingly mature relationship between Willis’s character and his wife, played with great confidence and nobility by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
My favorite feature of the fest so far is “Safety Not Guaranteed,” which generated rapturous applause at Sunday’s world premiere before the credits even started rolling. The film is perfectly cast, starring Aubrey Plaza as Darius, a depressed magazine intern in need of a bit of excitement. She finds more excitement than she bargained for in Mark Duplass’s Kenneth Calloway, who has placed an ad in the local paper claiming that he needs a partner to travel back in time with him. Darius joins two of her fellow magazine writers (played with great humor and poignancy by Jake M. Johnson and Karan Soni) in investigating Kenneth’s life, resulting in an unexpectedly moving examination of loss, regret and our nostalgic desire to return to happier times.
Last but certainly not least, Austinite Kat Candler’s short film “Hellion” premiered Saturday night, leaving a boisterous audience in laughter and tears. In just a few short moments, Candler paints an exhilarating portrait of childhood, with its rapturous highs and heartbreaking lows in equal measure. I’ve had the distinct honor of spending time with the cast and crew of “Hellion” here in Park City, and I couldn’t be happier for these wonderful people and their wonderful film. Be proud, Austin. Be proud.
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‘Hellion’ Sundance Chronicles
Austin filmmaker Kat Candler is in Sundance for the premiere of her short film “Hellion.” We chatted with her briefly before she left, which you can read here.
Candler and ‘Hellion’ producer Kelly Williams, with the help of editor E.J. Enriquez, are chronicling their experience in Sundance and we will be sharing those video diaries with you here on the Austin Movie Blog. Below is their first entry, featuring an appearance from ‘Hellion’ star Jonny Mars.
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Academy short-listed film ‘Bullhead’ screens at Alamo this weekend
“If I had to pick one film from the Fantastic Fest lineup that completely blew me away, without a doubt it would be Michael Roskam’s ‘Bullhead,’” League said. “Beloved by both arthouse audiences and genre film fans, ‘Bullhead’ is a marvel; a near-perfect film. We are honored to be distributing the debut feature from Roskam, whom I am sure will soon become a superstar director.”
This weekend, Austin audiences will get a chance to see what everyone was raving about at Fantastic Fest. “Bullhead” will screen at the Alamo South at 10:15 p.m. on Saturday and 7:40 p.m. on Sunday. Purchase tickets here.
“Bullhead” is tentatively slated for a April 27th release.
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‘Machete’ producer says Rick Perry owes him $2 million
But Perry did not keep his end of the deal, and now the producer says the governor, who today ended his candidacy for president, owes him $2 million. Schwartz writes that the Texas Film Commission, which runs the state’s Moving Image Incentive Program, “read and approved the script, letting us know we had qualified for the rebate.” Schwartz told the New York Times in November of 2010 that the state incentive program “is a pretty good model.”
However, as has been well documented by us, after the movie was released and the documents were submitted for approval, producers were denied incentive money due to the commission’s opinion that the film portrayed Texas in a negative light. The movie told the story of a Texas lawmaker who was killing illegal aliens as a solution to immigration problems and Mexican national mercenary (Machete). The film’s subject matter and violence was controversial and led to a letter-writing campaign to deny the film government funds.
Reached for comment the governor’s office said, “the Texas Legislature set the parameters for the film incentive program, including the provision you mentioned that precludes funding for projects that depict Texas in a negative light, and the Film Commission operates the incentive program based on this law.”
Despite the clause in the Moving Image Incentive Program that states that no movie that depicts Texas in a negative light, Schwartz, who has served as producer on three Martin Scorsese films, considers the denial of incentives “good, old-fashioned censorship.”
Read Schartz’s opinion piece in The Hollywood Reporter here.
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‘Bullhead’ makes Oscar short list
Belgian director Michael Roskam’s “Bullhead” caused quite a sensation at last year’s Fantastic Fest, picking up a host of awards. Austin’s Drafthouse Films purchased distribution rights to the noir thriller soon after the fest. (Read our thoughts on “Bullhead” from Fantastic Fest here.)
It was announced today that the film, which made our top 10 year-end list from 2011, has been short-listed for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, along with eight other movies, including the critically-acclaimed “A Separation” from Iran. Official Oscar nominations will be announced Tuesday. The Oscars take place February 4 in Los Angeles.
Short list for Best Foreign Language Film Belgium, “Bullhead” by Michael R. Roskam; Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar” by Philippe Falardeau; Denmark, “Superclásico” by Ole Christian Madsen; Germany, “Pina” by Wim Wenders; Iran, “A Separation” by Asghar Farhadi; Israel, “Footnote” by Joseph Cedar; Morocco, “Omar Killed Me” by Roschdy Zem; Poland, “In Darkness” by Agnieszka Holland Taiwan, “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale” by Wei Te-sheng
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Date set for Alamo Slaughter grand opening
The wait’s almost over for folks on the city’s south side.
Alamo Slaughter, the locally based theater chain’s newest location, is set to debut Thursday, March 22, the company announced today.
The eight-screen cinema is located in Southwest Austin at Mopac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Slaughter Lane, in the new Parkside Village shopping center being developed by Stratus Properties.
Alamo’s 400 Rabbits, an adjacent cocktail lounge, will open its doors the same day.
Food and drink menus for 400 Rabbits were posted online for the first time today. Alamo fans will have a chance to sample some of the offerings during a special “tasting event” set for Feb. 4 at The Highball, 1142 S. Lamar Blvd.
Alamo Slaughter will be the city’s fifth Drafthouse location. The others are:
Lake Creek: 13729 Research Blvd.
Ritz: 320 E. Sixth St.
South Lamar: 1120 S. Lamar Blvd.
Village: 2700 W. Anderson Lane
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Final verdict: Globes decide best movie drama
And the winner is … “The Descendants,” directed by Alexander Payne. It was the favorite, so no surprise. But it also helps cement the movie’s prospects for the Oscars. It took a while for Payne to get to the microphone. Still, an expected win. And probably not much controversy.
Good evening. Hope my musings weren’t completely off base. Thanks for tuning in.
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Globes: Best actor, movie drama
And the winner is … George Clooney of “The Descendants.” Gotta say I like the guy. Michael Fassbender was great for “Shame” as well. Clooney saluted Brad Pitt. And he thanked Fassbender for taking over the frontal nudity stuff, saying that Fassbender probably had to golf with his hands behind his back. Um… yep.
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Globes: Best movie, musical or comedy
The winner is… “The Artist.” About time. Right choice. The others weren’t in the same league. Hooray for the French! And that dog Uggie is stealing the show. Woo-hoo!
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Golden Globes: Actress, movie drama
Oh dear. One of the greatest actresses of our times wins for a movie that’s not worthy of her talents, “The Iron Lady.” I’ll admit it. I was rooting for Tilda Swinton of “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” Davis or that Tattooed gal would have been fine, too. Streep, of course, is fantastic. But the movie was less than stellar.
Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, et. al. Then Streep rattled on. But at least she noted Tilda twice.
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Globes: Best actor/ comedy, musical movie
Okay. I had already decided that I was going to be irritated when the winner of this category was announced. I had a favorite. Jean Dujardin of “The Artist.” It was my No. 2 movie of the year, after Austinite Jeff Nichols’ brilliant “Take Shelter.”
And then … Jean Dujardin won for “The Artist.” He won at the Cannes Film Festival, and he deserved to win here. What a charmer.
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Golden Globes: The bleep
My TV just bleeped out the Gervais intro to Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Then Banderas responded in a bit of Spanish. I’m beginning to think that this Gervais threat of saying untoward stuff was just a stunt…. You think? Oh well. Gervais is losing his edge.
At any rate, “Modern Family” wins the TV comedy category. And that’s fine with me. Funny show.
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Globes: Best director
And the best director is… Martin Scorsese for “Hugo.” I like the guy, but I disagree. Oh well. There’s no shame for the other folks in losing to Scorsese.
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Golden Globes: Mid-show reflection
I was beginning to regret that I was blogging at home about the Golden Globes. But Morgan Freeman’s acceptance of the De Mille award made it worthwhile. I remember talking to him for a movie that I won’t name here. But I had seen it in Cannes, and I was interviewing him after returning to the States.
He asked me what I thought of the movie. And I try not to lie. I told him I didn’t like it very much. And he said, “That’s okay. Thanks for your honesty.” He didn’t give me any grief, and didn’t act like I was insulting him. And we continued the interview without a glitch. In short, he’s a good guy. Congrats.
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Globes: Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier gets a standing ovation for introducing Morgan Freeman. It brings back so many memories about Poitier. What a great guy. What a trailblazer. One of my heroes. Wow.
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Golden Globes: Supporting actress
Octavia Spencer wins supporting actress in a comedy or musical movie for “The Help.” Not a big surprise. But Berenice Bejo of “The Artist” was nominated in the same category. So was the suddenly ubiquitous Jessica Chastain of “The Help.” So this award is debatable.
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Golden Globes: Best actor in TV comedy, musical
Matt Leblanc scores a surprise win for “Episodes” as a lead actor in a TV comedy or musical/etc. He beat Thomas Jane of “Hung.” Also beat Alec Baldwin of “30 Rock.” Sort of a surprise. Wasn’t sure why Thomas Jane was wearing a fedora.
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Claire Danes wins Globe for ‘Homeland’
Claire Danes wins the best actress in a TV series/etc. for “Homeland,” and it’s well-deserved. She also won for “Temple Grandin” a year ago. She was wonderful in that movie, and is wonderful in the new series as an intelligence agent who suspects that an Iraqi POW has turned into a terrorist.
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Globes: Madonna strikes back
When Gervais introduced Madonna, he made a harrumphing joke about “Like a Virgin.” Madonna, in turn, suggested that Ricky come out and do something about it. Then she added that she would like to kiss a girl (Gervais). It was a good comeback, but it was probably planned. It was all in advance of the foreign-language movie award, which went to “A Separation.”
That movie hasn’t opened in Austin, in case you were wondering. It’s from Iran and deals with a family’s dilemma about whether to leave the country for the sake of a child, even though a parent is suffering from Alzheimer’s. It’s winning all the foreign-language awards, and it’s an Oscar favorite.
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Globes: Supporting actress, TV movie, miniseries
Jessica Lange wins for “American Horror Story.” Haven’t seen it, so I have no not-so-witty remarks. The show is on FX, and I should watch that channel more often. My bad.
At any rate, she’s one of my favorites. So … no problems here.
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Golden Globes: screenplay
Woody Allen wins best screenplay for “Midnight in Paris.” Not his best, but it was fine, anyway. Naturally, Woody didn’t show up.
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‘Tintin’ wins animation Globe
“The Adventures of Tintin” wins best animated film. It had lots of competition, and it’s a bit of a surprise, Steven Spielberg notwithstanding.
Lots of “Tintin” fans had some problems with the motion-capture notion of the movie. But it did okay at the box office in Europe, where the comic originated.
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Dinklage wins Globe for ‘Game of Thrones’
Another stunner. Golden Globes got it right again with a TV award. Peter Dinklage wins supporting actor for HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” He was up against Guy Pearce of “Mildred Pierce.” Dinklage noted that his mom thought Pearce would win. The award was for a TV movie, mini-series or series, or something like that. I forget the exact category, since the Globes folks like very complicated categories, and I left my handy Statesman cheat sheet somewhere inaccessible.
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Williams wins, best actor in TV drama, too
Idris Elba wins best actor in TV drama for “Luther.” But the best news is that Michelle Williams wins for her riveting portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn,” in which was nominated for best actress in a musical or comedy movie. She was great. The movie was okay but not great.
By the way, I consider Michelle Williams to be one of the nicest, most generous actresses alive today. I’ve interviewed her several times, and she always makes me feel special. That’s hard to do, at least from my perspective.
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Best song
Best song for movies goes to “Masterpiece” by Madonna. It’s from the new film that she directed, “W.E.” (Hasn’t opened in Austin.) The movie deals with that wild woman Wallis Simpson and her love for the abdicating king of England, who caused all that trouble for the stuttering successor, as chronicled in “The King’s Speech.”
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‘The Artist’ wins best movie score
If the early awards are any indication, “The Artist” is sitting pretty. Just won best score, for Ludovic Bource. By the way, Berenice Bejo of “The Artist” is looking great. Naturally, I didn’t see her on the red carpet, since the NBC folks were focusing on stars of NBC shows. I must have blinked.
We wouldn’t want to show the biggies, would we? Especially at ratings-challenged NBC.
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Golden Globes updates
The Golden Globes got something right. The group awarded “Homeland” as the best drama on TV. It has been a riveting first season. And Claire Danes has been excellent as the star.
As for other matters: The early acceptance speeches are going on too long. Still, Ricky Gervais, as the host, has gotten in a few zingers. Most of them have been directed at the ratings-challenged NBC. That’s an easy, if not-so-safe target.
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SXSW announces opening night film, prepares to welcome Joss Whedon, Judd Apatow and Lena Dunham
New York filmmaker Lena Dunham, winner of best narrative feature at SXSW in 2011 for her touching and hilarious coming-of-age film “Tiny Furniture,” returns this year to debut the first three episodes of her upcoming HBO series, “Girls.” The series is executive produced by comedy titan and SXSW veteran Judd Apatow, who will be in attendance and participate in a panel on March 13 with Dunham and other members of the “Girls” production team to discuss the show that premieres in April.
Other films announced today include director Kevin MacDonald’s (“The Last King of Scotland”) Bob Marley documentary “Marley” and “Small Apartments,” a black comedy from music video director Jonas Åkerlund.
“Announcing the first films of our program is always energizing, but we’re especially thrilled to have such a smart, unpredictable and highly entertaining headliner like ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ as our opening night film,” SXSW Film Conference and Festival producer Janet Pierson said. “We’re also happy to offer a peek at a handful of wonderful films that demonstrate the breadth and range of terrific work we plan to show at SXSW Film 2012.”
The complete festival lineup will be announced in early February 2012. The 19th annual South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival runs March 9 - 17, 2012 in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit sxsw.com/film.
Titles announced today that will be playing SXSW (with descriptions from the festival):
“Beauty is Embarrassing” (World Premiere)
Director: Neil Berkeley
A funny, irreverent and insightful look into the life and times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White.
“The Cabin in the Woods” (World Premiere)
Director: Drew Goddard, Writers: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes The Cabin in the Woods, a mind-blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out. Cast: Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford
“Citadel” (World Premiere)
Director & Writer: Ciarán Foy
An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children. Cast: Anuerin Barnard, James Cosmo, and Wumni Mosaku, Jake Wilson, Amy Shiels
“Girls” (World Premiere)
Director & Writer: Lena Dunham
Created by and starring Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), the HBO show is a comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20s. Cast: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver
“Marley” (North American Premiere)
Director: Kevin Macdonald
The definitive documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.
“The Oyster Princess” (1919) with original live score by Bee vs. Moth (World Premiere)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch, Writers: Hanns Kraly & Ernst Lubitsch
The Oyster Princess is Ernst Lubitsch’s tart 1919 silent comedy that parodies the rich and the spoiled. Austin jazz/rock band Bee vs. Moth performs their original score live with the film for the first time.
“Small Apartments” (World Premiere)
Director: Jonas &3197;kerlund, Writer: Chris Millis
When Franklin Franklin accidentally kills his landlord, he must hide the body; but, the wisdom of his beloved brother and the quirks of his neighbors, force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him. Cast: Matt Lucas, Billy Crystal, James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Juno Temple, James Marsden, Dolph Lundgren, Saffron Burrows, Rosie Perez, DJ Qualls
Photo: Scene from “Girls.” (Jojo Whilden HBO)
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Q&A with Bryan Poyser, outgoing Director of Artists Services at Austin Film Society
In his time at AFS, Poyser oversaw the distribution of over $500,000 in Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund grants to more than 100 artistic projects. AFS will not fill Posyer’s position, but have created a new one, Associate Artistic Director, which Poyser addresses below.
We emailed a few questions to the integral member of Austin’s film scene, asking him about his five years at AFS and his future plans.
What was the most exciting moment in your time at Austin Film Society?
That would have to be the premiere of “Slacker 2011” just this past August. It was a crazy idea, initiated by former Alamo programmer Daniel Metz, to get 24 of Austin’s most prominent filmmakers to remake Richard Linklater’s seminal “Austin” movie “Slacker” scene-by-scene. AFS helped to “recruit” the teams that made it and provided small stipends for them to pull off their segments. All throughout the spring and summer, as I saw what my fellow Austin filmmakers were doing, I was just consistently blown away by their talent, ambition and dedication to the project. We did the premiere at the Paramount and when we got all the directors up on stage —- so many people that they had to pull the movie screen up to give us enough room — I was just staggered and humbled by the group that had come together to do it. So many talented folks, many of whom I’m lucky to call my friends, pooling their resources, know-how and sweat-equity to make this amazing, bizarre tribute to the film that really gave birth to the Austin Film Society and the community that it’s fostered.
Back in August, I had already been making motions toward leaving AFS to pursue my own filmmaking full-time, my co-workers knew that — but after that SLACKER 2011 premiere, I felt like, this is a high point for my tenure at AFS, and it’s how I want to go out.
How has being so intricately involved in the Society shaped your opinion about Austin’s creative community in general and filmmaking community, specifically?
Austin is a truly unique place. People are drawn here by the creative impulse and stay here because of it and thrive on it and frankly a good chunk of our economy relies on it. And, this is true for so many art-forms —- film, music, theater, visual arts, dance, digital innovations, and on and on. When I started at AFS, I was immediately impressed by how much the organization had evolved into a strong and vibrant part of the full Austin creative community from the scrappy, DIY film club that Linklater and his cohorts started in the mid-80s. And, so much of that is due to the leadership and the long-term vision of our Executive Director Rebecca Campbell. It was a true honor to work alongside her to find the best ways to specifically support the filmmakers of Austin’s arts community while also engaging with the community as a whole.
How gratifying and stressful was it to be in charge of the Texas Filmmaker Production Fund?
Administering TFPF over the last five years has been the best, and the hardest, part of the job. I’ve been in a privileged position to see just how diverse and ambitious the Texas film community really is, by reviewing applications from hundreds of filmmakers working at every level from just-starting-out amateurs to accomplished veterans.
And I’ve loved the opportunity to share the quality and breadth of the work being done here with the wider independent film community by inviting our panelists to come to Austin during the brutally hot month of August and pore over grant applications in a dark room for three 10-hour days in a row. Each one of the panelists came out of that experience truly impressed by our state’s filmmakers and ready to spread the gospel of Texas film to their communities, in New York, LA, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, wherever they came from. And, a lot of them came out of it inspired and invigorated to dig back into their own work, maybe even with a bit of a competitive fire in their bellies.
By far the crappiest part of the job every year was to send out about 200 messages of bad news to those hopeful filmmakers who didn’t get a grant. I got one of those “regret to inform you” letters myself when I unsuccessfully applied to TFPF the year before I got the job, so I always knew how demoralizing it could be to get that news. But, a lot of those people ended up making really successful films. For example, the Duplass brothers never got a grant from AFS, but that didn’t stop them from storming Sundance and then Hollywood.
Will you continue teaching at Texas State University? What is it about that experience that you enjoyed so much?
I sort of stumbled into the teaching gig last semester after one of Austin’s most [excellent] filmmakers, Kat Candler, had a movie she wrote go into production in Canada and had to drop out of teaching a screenwriting class. Former Texas Film Commissioner Tom Copeland, who oversees the film classes at the Theatre Department there, had faith in me to take over and I just kind of loved the experience, more so than I thought I would. I think maybe cause it’s a new challenge and I felt like I really had something to offer in terms of advising my students how to make their scripts better. So, I’m doing another screenwriting class this semester and hope to continue my gig there.
What can you tell us about the movie you are preparing to make with your new-found ‘free time’?
Unfortunately, not so much right now, as we’re still finalizing the cast and getting our ducks in a row. But, I can say that it’s a more ambitious project than anything I’ve helmed before — you know, like we’ll have more than five people on the crew, and more than three lights to work with. It’s a romantic comedy set in Austin and will feature some of the more, shall we say, unique facets of its nightlife. I collaborated on the script with a couple of other up-and-coming writers and I’m really excited to work with some very cool, talented people both in front of and behind the camera. We’re shooting it in the late spring and I hope to share some more juicy details about it soon.
I imagine there will be a line from AFS all the way to I-35 of people hoping to fill your shoes. What advice would you give the next person who takes on your job and what should they expect?
AFS is actually taking the opportunity of my departure to do some re-structuring, so instead of looking for a new Director of Artist Services, focused solely on our filmmaker-support programs, the new Associate Artistic Director will have responsibility for managing our exhibition programs, filmmaker-support and the new programs AFS will be able to take on when it gets the keys at the end of this year to the National Guard building, the big 60,000 square-foot facility right next door. So, as far as advice, I’d say applicants should understand the needs and ambitions of our filmmaking and film-loving audience today and have a vision for how those needs and ambitions may change going forward.
Photo: Bryan Poyser in 2009. (Chris Garcia AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Documentary ‘Saving Hubble’ to pass through Austin
“Saving Hubble” reveals the importance of science in our daily lives and examines the efforts of passionate citizens’ to save the famed telescope from becoming “space junk.”
Austin Astronomical Society presents ‘Saving Hubble’
Wednesday, January 11
7:30 p.m.
University of Texas at Austin, Wheeler Lecture Hall, RLM 4.102 (Robert Lee Moore Bldg.)
Free and open to the public
Saving Hubble Trailer from David Gaynes on Vimeo.
Photo provided by NASA shows the Hubble Space Telescope following the grapple of the observatory by the shuttle’s remote manipulator system Wednesday, May 13, 2009.
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Fantastic Fest now accepting entries
Fantastic Fest announced this morning their deadlines for submissions for the 2012 festival. Filmmakers hoping to screen their movies at the country’s biggest genre film festival, which has been home to world premieres of movies ranging from “There Will Be Blood” to “The Human Centipede 2,” can submit online via Without A Box.
This year’s Fantastic Fest kicks off September 20. The first wave of titles will be released July 27. For more information about submitting films to Fantastic Fest, visit WithoutABox.com.
2012 SUBMISSION DEADLINES
Discount Earlybird Deadline: March 7, 2012
Regular Deadline: May 9, 2012
Late Deadline: June 6, 2012
Without A Box Extended Deadline: July 13, 2012 (Final Deadline!)
2012 ANNOUNCEMENTS TIMELINE
First wave of content announced: July 27, 2012
Second wave of content announced: August 10, 2012
Schedule Announced: September 7, 2012
Festival Begins: September 20, 2012
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Mims teaching new film course
Austin FilmWorks and Steve Mims, who co-directed the documentary “Incendiary” with Joe Bailey Jr., will be teaching a class this spring called “The Film Mind: Advanced Cinematography and Directing.”
The course, which is currently accepting registrations, will be held at the Austin Studios Screening Room, 1901 E. 51 St. An orientation meeting will be held Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the studios. The course begins Feb. 7 and lasts through May 1.
Course fee: $960.
Mims says the course blends in-depth examination of current large sensor digital cinematography with classic filmmaking techniques, both technical and aesthetic. The core tools of cinematography — lenses, filters, exposure and lighting — are melded with the discipline of classic film grammar and directorial technique to prepare completely to make accomplished films. Threaded through the course are the concepts and ideas of three great directors of the last century: David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa.
The course focuses on three phases, Mims says: Preparation: idea, script, visual narrative approach, design and story boarding. Shooting: directing, blocking, lighting and cinematography. Editing: progressive cuts, image color correction and timing, mixing and finishing.
Each student will create an individual one-minute film and collaborate on a seven minute short made by groups of five.
Requirements: Students must have access to a camera and editing for the one-minute film. Camera, sound, lighting and grip equipment will be provided for the group film.
Class meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00.
For more information, visit www.austinfilmworks.com.
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Proceeds from ‘Austin High’ screening to benefit fund for Esme Barrera’s services
‘Austin High’ filmmakers will donate proceeds from their Wednesday night screening to help fund funeral services for Esmeralda Barrera. The stoner comedy screens at the Alamo Ritz at 7:15 p.m.
Barrera, a 29-year-old teaching assistant and band camp counselor, was found dead in her home early Sunday morning. Police have declared Barrera’s death a homicide but have not determined how the woman who was a positive and energetic fixture in Austin’s live music scene died. For more details on Barrera’s death, read this story on Statesman.com.
A website has been created to help raise funds for Barrera’s services. Visit it at http://forouresmeb.blogspot.com/
Anyone who saw Barrera on New Year’s Eve or who has information about the other attacks is asked to call the homicide tip line at 512-477-3588.
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